About 53,000 Russian troops remain near borders of Ukraine – Defense Ministry

Ukrinform learnt this from the press service of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine.

"The Russian Federation continues to deploy its military groups along the state border of Ukraine. In particular, as of the end of December, 28 battalion tactical groups were deployed near the borders of Ukraine and in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The total number of troops (excluding those stationed in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions) is about 53,000 servicemen," the report reads.

Earlier, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak stated that the Russian Federation deployed a powerful military group along the border with Ukraine, demonstrating that it did not refuse attempts to seize our country.